Windows Update may have updated drivers available that may be relevant to your current issue. Many times, updated drivers are listed in the "Optional" section of Windows Update. Install any pending updates on the pc to check if that helps.

ERROR_NOT_READY normally indicates a serious hardware failure.

This issue could occur due to corrupted or incompatible Universal Serial Bus controllers device drivers on your system.

Please follow these method below, to resolve the issue.

Method 1:

Hardware and Devices troubleshooter:

Try to run the Hardware and Devices troubleshooter, the steps are mentioned below:

1. Type ‘Troubleshooting’ in the search bar and press Enter.
2. Click on ‘View all’ on the left panel of the ‘Troubleshooting’ window.
3. Click on ‘Hardware and Devices' and follow on the screen instruction.

If the issue still persists, follow the Method 2.

Method 2:

Uninstall and reinstall the Universal Serial Bus controllers driver and check, if it works. Refer to the following steps to uninstall the Universal Serial Bus controllers driver from the Device Manager.

Hi, I have now tried hard disc drives from 6 different manufacturers and I get the same result with all of them. This proves that it is not an external hardware fault.

The only change to my pc recently is the installation of Windows 10 Pro, as an upgrade via the Microsoft Download Site.

I am adverse to going back to Windows 7 and then getting Windows 10 again, as I did this with my other pc, and when I restarted after the new re-install, I was told I needed to buy a licence, and my Windows 10 'expired' as I had no key, as this was also
an upgrade.

I have been cleaning and then formatting discs from this pc via a USB cable for years now, and this is the first time I have had any problems.

I am guessing that I am going to have to back-up my data and re-install Windows 10, but I am worried about losing my O/S for a second time.

Since the issue persists, I suggest you to check the same hard drives on a different computer and check if the hard drive gets detected.

If the hard drive is getting detected on another computer, then I suggest you to install the latest driver for USB from the manufacturer website and check if it helps.

If there is no updated drivers available on the computer manufacturer’s website, then download the latest drivers and

try installing it in Windows 8 compatibility mode. Compatibility mode runs the program using settings from a previous version of Windows.

Follow these steps to install the drivers in compatibility mode and check if that helps.

a. Download the driver from the manufacturer’s website.

b. Right-click on the driver setup file and click on
‘properties’.

c. Click on the ‘compatibility’ tab and check the box
‘Run this program in compatibility mode for’ and select Windows 8 operating system from the drop down menu and proceed with the installation. Once this is done, restart the computer and check if the issue persists.

I can see it from "Computer Management", but it has no drive letter associated so I give it one.
Then I can see it from File Explorer but it has no name and if i try to access it i give "device not ready" problem